20 August 2009

I am not writing about Obama’s healthcare reform plan. I’m not debating about the different arguments of republicans or democrats or the faults or merits of their plans. I am writing about what I think.

Christiana told me of a man in the army who was very republican, anti government healthcare, etc. That is, until he found out he has MS. Since it’s considered a preexisting condition, the army doesn’t have to do anything about it. So suddenly he’s going to be kicked out of the army with no insurance and a lifetime of medical needs ahead of him. Now he is all for universal healthcare.

There is another man in the south that started up a non-profit organization whose sole purpose is to drive children to doctors appointments, because their families can’t even afford to drive them there.

Maybe the bills going on right now about healthcare reform are flawed. Maybe it should all be thrown out and started over again. But it SHOULD happen. Just because you disagree with HOW something is being done doesn’t mean that the cause isn’t worthy. Healthcare for everyone; that any man woman or child can go see a doctor if they are sick or in pain. Why wouldn’t we want that? Because it means higher taxes? I do not enjoy paying taxes any more than anyone else – but if ever there was a cause worthy of my money, this is it.

We think it’s so noble when we hear of doctors volunteering their time to go to third world countries and help the people there. In fact, we think it’s such a worthy cause that many of us make donations so they can do this! So I ask you, why not here? Why would you do that for a stranger and not your neighbor?

Perhaps I am biased. I am, after all, one of those millions of people who know that when my insurance contract runs out – I’m going to be in big trouble.

My point is this: You can disagree with how people are going about healthcare reform. You can argue that this isn’t the way to do it. But please don’t blanket the entire idea with a sense of impending doom. Stop arguing over who’s right and who’s wrong and this person said this. It IS a worthy cause. If we can spend billions of dollars to pay for a war, and hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out financial firms, we can damn well spend some money to get kids in to see a doctor.

So many people speculate on the possible negative things that would happen if we implement healthcare reform. It’s true, some of these worries even have some merit. But we know what will happen if we don’t do anything. People are just going to keep dying.

If you’re reading this, then you’re my friend or part of my family. You’re an intelligent person, with a kind heart. Use that intelligence to find solutions instead of arguing and forwarding emails warning of the evils and possible downfalls.